Navigating the online marketplace is not difficult but it is not easy either. Whether you have an Internet marketing service expert to help you out or you are venturing on your own, here are four things you may want to avoid.
1. Not having a plan. Look at Internet marketing in the same way you would look at sales, advertising or marketing. Take into consideration goals, audience, audience motivation, strategy and expected outcome. You can’t just “throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks.” You may not realize it immediately, but venturing into the world of Internet marketing services without a plan can cost you precious time and yes, even money.
2. Not optimizing social media profiles. Zeckman suggests considering your social media accounts as your “offsite SEO.” This means utilizing your relevant keywords in creating social media content. This is a very simple yet often overlooked strategy. Too often, we get lost in a sea of “big” strategies that we forget the basic social media and SEO tricks that work.
3. Not reacting to negative feedback. Nobody, no one, and nothing is perfect. And that includes your business; no matter how hard you try. You can’t control what people say about you or who they share it with (that’s the risk of social media) but you can use the same social platform to resolve issues, address concerns and foster positive relationships. If you don’t like hearing negative feedback about your business, then utilizing Internet marketing services may not be for you.
4. Not measuring the success of your campaign. If you have an Internet marketing service company, you will find that there are ways to measure and report online activity. If you have metrics to measure against, you can even use free tools online to see if your online campaign is working for you or against you. Check out our blog post on measuring social media performance.
Given today’s online landscape, Zeckman points out that social may be the new normal. What do you think?